Improvement in low-water indicators for steam-boilers



UNITED STATES PATENT Y OFFICE.

G. ADOLPH RIEDEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 47,365, dated April 18,1865.

To all whom, it 11m-y concern:

Be it knownthat I, G. ADoLrI-I RVIEDEL, ol' the city and county ofPhiladelphia, and State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented a new andImproved Selt'- Regulating Steam Boiler and Steam Indicator' and Alarm 5and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the construction and operation of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, making a part ot' this speciiication,in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a Vsteamboiler with theimprovements attached lo the same.. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same.Fig. 3 is `an end view of the boiler and a portion of-the frame-workwith which it is connected. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of a modifiedarrangement of the receiver C. Figs. 5 and 6 are a bottom and side viewofthe whistle O.

Like letters in all the li gures represent the same parts.

The nature ot' my invention consists in so constructing and arrangingthe boiler and parts attached to the same that when the water in theboiler gets below the water-line the communication therewith is cut oft'from a water-receiver above it, where it had been forced by the pressureof steam in the boiler, and the water passes down a connecting-pipe bywhich the receiver is emptied and its position changed, by which a pumpis set to work to fill the boiler, and a whistle or other device isoperated to give an alarm; or else I connect with the boiler a weightedlever, or system ot' levers, which causes the boiler to ascend when thewateris diminished to a certain degrec, to produce the same results.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the boiler, which is supported by a suitable framework, B. It restson the concaved edges of the plates B B', which tit loosely in thegrooved uprights ofthe frame B, to allow the boiler to be elevated inthe manner I will hereinafter describe.

Gis a receiver, which has communication with the boiler A by means ofthe shit'ting pipe D and the standing pipe E, the latter having apermanent connection with the boiler at its lower end, and a looseconnection with the pipe I) by means of the ball-and-socket joint a b.The upper end ot' the pipe O is rmly secured to the lower side ot' thereceiver C by means of screw-bol ts which pass through the iange c ofthe pipe.

F is an air-vessel which connects with the said receiver. On the lowerside otl the receiver, at it rear end, there is an arm, G,whichcommunicates with the lever H by means ot' y the upright piece I. Thelever works on the fulcrum-pin d in the standard J. There is anadjustable counter-weight, K, on the projecting end ot' the lever. `Thestandard J has a. socket in its upper end, in which the lower4 end ofthe bent rod L has an easy tit, to allowittoturu by the-oscillationofthe receiver, which will hereinafter `be described. other end of saidrod is connected with the swivel M, whose front end lits on the stein eot' the conical valve N of the whistle O,\vhicl| is connected to theair-vessel F.

The construction and arrangement of the whistle and valve are clearlyshown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The operationis as follows When the water in the boiler is abovcthewater-line, (indicated by the red line a b in Fig. 1,) to which thelower end ot' the standing pipe E projects, the pressure of the steam inthe boiler'causes the water to flow out of the boiler to the receiver G,except what is equivalent to the pressure ofthe air in the air-vessel F,at which time the receiver is brought into a horizontal position,(indicated by the red line c dg) but when the water in the boiler getsbelow the line a b, the communication being cut oli` from the pipe E,the water in the receiver, being specically heavier than steam, passesdown thev pipe into the boiler, and the receiver being thus lightenedthe weighted leverH cauts the rear end upward, the ball-and-socket jointc b allowing it to move freely. The receiver is shown in its cantedposition in Fig. 1. In proceeding toward the position represented, theswivel M is turned partly round, which brings the opening f ot' theconical valve N in connection with the opening g ot' whistle O, whichallows the steam to escipc from the receiver C through the air-.vesselF, and-pass into the crown-recess [L ofthe whistle, and give an alarm.The conical valve N, by means of' the steam in the receiver G, is kepttight against its seat i, so as to prevent the escape ot' the steam atother times; but when the pressure of the steam in the boiler, and con`The squently in the receiver, is exhausted the valve N drops sufcientlyto allow the atmospherc lo iow into and occupy the receiver, and thewater passing freely down into the boiler, all danger ci' freezing isprevented. I set a pump to work to iill the boiler by connecting one endof a rod or lever therewith, and the other end to the receiver U, or oneofits attachments.

In Fig. 4 a modified arrangement is shown for connecting the receiverwith the boiler. In this arrangement, which is represented by alongitudinal section through the receiver, P represents a pipe in theform of a T, having its small end screwed into the end of the receiver.In the large end ot' said 'pipe there is a valve, Q, of conical form,which fits a corresponding seat, j, in the pipe, leaving a chamber, lc,between it and the plug or head l, which communicates with the receiverby means of the small end of the pipe. rIhe hollow stem m of the valvets in the horizontal part of the elbow R, which is connected at itslower end with the standing pipe E, llercinbefore described.

S is a helical spring on the stein m ot' the valve, which, bearingagainst the end of the elbow R and the contiguous end of the pipe I),keeps the valve Q at all times sufficiently tight against its seat toprevent the escape of the steam.

I contemplate using a iiexible pipe as another modification of theconnection ofthe receiver U with the boiler, the said pipe being simplyconnected at one end with the boiler in a similar manner to that of thestanding' pipe E, and the other end to lthe receiver.

In either connection ofthe receiver with the boiler a spring may be usedfor sustaining the weight of its rear end instead of the weighted leverH, although the lever in most casesmay be found to be the mostconvenient device.

A modication of the invention is represented by a system of leversconnected with the lower side ot' the boiler A. In this arrangement Idispense with the receiver C and produce the same results as thosedescribed by its change of position by the vertical raising of theboiler when the water is lowered therein to a given line.

In Fig. 1, T represen ts a lever whose fulcrum is situated in cheeks,between which the end of the lever works on the upper end of thestandard U. V is a counter-weighton the lever. The said lever isconnected to the levers T and T, which operate equally on each end ofthe boiler, by means ot' the jointed pieces Vbeing connected with thepump and whistle by analogous means as those described above, adopted inthe use of the receiver C, similar effects are produced by the elevationof the boiler as those accomplished by the canting of the receiver.

Having thus fully described my improved self-regulating steam-boiler andsteam indicator and alarm, what I claim therein as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rThe oscillatin g receiver G, combined and arranged with the boilerA, substantially as de scribed, and for the purposes specified.

2. The jointed pipes D and E, arranged and operating substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of the weighted lever H with the receiver C,substantially in the manner described, and for the purpose set forth.

, 4. The combination and arrangement ot' the conical valve N and whistleO, or other alarm, substantially as described.

In testimony that the above is my invention v G. ADOLPH RIEDEL. [L.

Witnesses STEPHEN UsrIcK, DAVID ELDRIDGE.

